How good was SMU in 81 and 82?

#51
#51
BUBear said:
They were good. The '81 & '82 teams were lead by NFL Pro Bowlers Craig James, Eric Dickerson, Wes Hopkins and Michael Carter and six others who played in the league. Carter was an Olympic shot putter. He still holds the National High School Record for the shot at 81' 3 1/2"...9 feet futher than anyone else.
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I don't remember Craig James ever going to the Pro Bowl. Eric Dickerson was All-Pro(a higher distinction than Pro Bowl) on several occasions
 
#52
#52
GAVol said:
What could you possibly be basing that on?


I think both teams in the Sugar Bowl that year were better. SMU had Dickerson, but Curt Warner and Herschel Walker weren't exactly slouches.
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They could have been better, although I know a lot of people old enough to remember back that would have differed with you. SMU was far from a one man team during those years. I mean they had guys like Michael Carter, Wes Hopkins, Craig James, Rod Jones, Harvey Armstrong, etc...boatloads of future NFL'ers, and good ones at that.
 
#53
#53
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#54
#54
Not sure if this was told in the 30-30 show. I was looking thru some old UT game day programs I have and I looked at Johnny Majors coaching staff for the UT v Ole Miss game in 1978. One name rang a bell but I didnt know how.

Henry Lee Parker. As the program says "Coach Majors works hand in glove with administrative assistant Henry Lee Parker in tackling the vast amount of deatils that faces the Volunteers enourmous football program.......Both men were coaches on the staff of Mississippi State in the late fifties and early sixties and Parker filled the same administraative post at Pittsburgh in 1975 and 1976 that he holds at Tennessee. Parker was appointed director of player personel by the New Orleans Saints in 1966, a position he held for nine years".

So I did a google on his name and it hit on wikipedia.

On October 27, Hansen confronted athletic director Bob Hitch, head coach Bobby Collins and recruiting coordinator Henry Lee Parker with Stanley's allegations. He then dropped a bombshell—he'd obtained several letters containing payments to Stanley's family that had been postmarked in October 1985. A handwriting expert had confirmed that the envelopes had been initialed by Parker. Even in the face of this evidence, Hitch, Collins and Parker denied everything.For example, when Parker was shown an envelope that had contained a $350 payment, he initially said it was his, but immediately backtracked and said, "No, this is printed ... I don't write that way."

humm....
 
#55
#55
Montrell Hardy said:
Probably but Arkansas was a Top 10 team that year and Penn State actually had a loss didn't they? I think Alabama hammered them in the regular season that year.

Their schedules were both very good. SMU might have even played a slightly tougher one that season. I just cant see a 1-loss team getting it over a 1-tie team with how comparable their schedules were. I sure wish we could have seen them play.
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Their schedules were NOT comparable. Penn State was the right choice. SMU's schedule makes any of the recent Boise State teams look like they played a Murderer's Row.

1982-Southern Methodist (SWC)
9/11 vs. Tulane (4-7) W 51 7
9/18 @ Texas-El Paso (2-10) W 31 10
9/25 vs. *Texas Christian (3-8) W 16 13
10/2 vs. North Texas (2-9) W 38 10
10/9 @ *Baylor (4-6-1) W 22 19
10/16 vs. *Houston (5-5-1) W 20 14
10/23 @ *Texas (9-3) W 30 17
10/30 vs. *Texas A&M (5-6) W 47 9
11/6 @ *Rice (0-11) W 41 14
11/13 @ *Texas Tech (4-7) W 34 27
11/20 vs. *Arkansas (9-2-1) T 17 17
1/1 vs. Pittsburgh (9-3) W 7 3 @ Dallas, TX Cotton Bowl
11-0-1 354 160

They played three good-but-not-great teams and went 2-0-1, neither of the two wins decisive by any means. And they barely beat four bad teams.

Here was Penn State's schedule:

1982-Penn State (Independent)
9/4 vs. Temple (4-7) W 31 14
9/11 vs. Maryland (8-4) W 39 31
9/18 vs. Rutgers (5-6) W 49 14
9/25 vs. Nebraska (12-1) W 27 24
10/9 vs. Alabama (8-4) L 21 42 @ Birmingham, AL
10/16 vs. Syracuse (2-9) W 28 7
10/23 @ West Virginia (9-3) W 24 0
10/30 @ Boston College (8-3-1) W 52 17
11/6 vs. North Carolina State (6-5) W 54 0
11/13 @ Notre Dame (6-4-1) W 24 14
11/26 vs. Pittsburgh (9-3) W 19 10
1/1 vs. Georgia (11-1) W 27 23 @ New Orleans, LA Sugar Bowl
11-1-0 395 196

Penn State handed Nebraska and Georgia their only losses; either would have won the title had they not lost to Penn State. Penn State beat Pitt by more points than SMU did. Penn State played just three teams with losing records, SMU played eight.

There was very little controversy about this at the time. It was recognized that Penn State had played a much tougher schedule. If SMU had beaten Arkansas and finished 12-0, they would have won the title. But with that weak of a schedule, they had to go 12-0.
 
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